In performing either Mammography or Ultrasound Guided Breast Needle Localization, a needle is placed in the breast to guide the surgeon to the correct area for biopsy. This needle has a thin wire through its center. The doctor can choose to leave both the needle and wire in the patient's breast, or remove the needle, leaving only the wire to guide the surgeon.
If only a wire is left in the breast for surgery, the wire is then later followed by the surgeon to remove the area of abnormality. The exposed ends of the wires are sharp and can hurt the patient or others. Also, if the wires are moved or bumped it can cause pain to the patient. The wire also has the chance to be accidentally displaced. One of the objectives of the invention is to develop a system that will protect the patient and others from harm due to the wires, and greatly minimize the chance of accidental displacement. If the wire is displaced, the biopsy may not be performed in the correct area of the breast.
Currently, the general practice with the wire is to attempt to cover the exposed sharp end of the wire with gauzes. Then the wires are placed against a patient's skin and held down with several pieces of tape.
This causes several problems. Gauze is not very effective in covering the exposed ends of the wires. The problem with securing the wires with gauze and tape are the possibility of accidental displacement, skin irritation from the tape and the exposed wire injuring the patient.
The inventor has produced a unique solution to solve this problem.
The features that make applicant's solution possible are that she uses a small diameter tube that is radiolucent and latex free to cover the wire. Then, to hold the wire in place the tubing is loosely looped and secured against the body with a rectangular shaped latex free adhesive bandage with a non-adhesive center. The weight and size of the tubing allows it to be looped and fit securely against the body. When held in place with the rectangular shaped latex free adhesive bandage, there is less chance of accidental displacement and eliminates the chance of the sharp end of the wire injuring the patient or others.
If the doctor chooses to leave both the needle and the wire guide in the breast, it is still necessary to cover the wire and needle. In the prior art the needles and wires are usually covered with a Dixie cup. There are several problems with this procedure. The first problem is that the needles/wires come in different lengths. Thus, the size of a Dixie cup does not properly fit all the sizes of the wires/needles. Secondly, the Dixie cups are not sanitary. Thirdly, it is difficult to securely tape the Dixie cup over the wires. Usually the tape does not adequately secure the needle and wire and individuals may be allergic to the tape or adhesive used. To solve this problem the applicant has invented a cylindrical cup like device whose height can be adjusted.
The cylindrical cup like device comes with four tabs that have adhesive on their bottom side for attaching the adjustable height cylindrical cup like device to the body.